Aramco fully evacuates its Dhahran headquarters for the first time

According to a Reuters report carried by The New Arab, Aramco instructed employees at its Dhahran headquarters on 22 October to vacate the building and work remotely. Reuters' 6 sources say it is the first evacuation order since the Yemen war resumed in September. An AFP report cited by Gulf News says the remaining essential staff were also told to work from home until further notice. 3 sources noted that most employees had already been working remotely since the previous week's attack; Aramco did not comment.

Bloomberg says the evacuation followed an alarm at the headquarters, the cause of which is unknown. The complex was hit on 13 October; 3 Reuters sources say the fire spread across several floors, while Bloomberg reported damage to about 3 floors. The Saudi energy ministry, by contrast, said the fire was contained and that nobody was killed or injured. The gap between these accounts has not closed.

There is no sign that the evacuation has affected production or exports. Newsquawk reports that the Houthis claimed on 22 October to have struck an Aramco facility in Yanbu and set it ablaze; Saudi Arabia has not confirmed this. Yanbu is the Red Sea outlet of the East–West pipeline that bypasses Hormuz. Reuters columnist Ron Bousso says Yanbu exports averaged 3 million barrels a day in October, below the wartime peak of 4.3 million barrels seen in June.